Too Late
by angatgirl
Summary: As she lay dying on the field, the person she least expected appeared and eased her pain. He said he would do anything for her, and he meant it. DHr, ONE SHOT


A/N- I wrote this just to try the idea. The beginning isn't as good as I would like it to be, but the rest is all right. Its not my best work but I wanted to see what you all thought of it. Mocha, if you read this would you please give me your email in your review. I would really like to talk to you, without using A/N and reviews. Thanks! By the way, you are awesome.

Hermione ran through a mass of colorful lights and people screaming spells. The final battle was in progress and she was surrounded by violence and devastation. She marveled at how quickly everything had changed. Since leaving school and finishing her training with the ministry she had been constantly preparing for the final battle. This battle. Even with all the months of preparation thousands were still being slaughtered. All around there were dead and wounded ministry workers on the ground.

"'Mione! GET OVER HERE!" Ron yelled from across the field.

Hermione set off at a dead sprint across the field to help Ron who was impossibly outnumbered.

"Avada Kedavra!" Hermione yelled, knocking over a deatheater. She made it to Ron and immediately started casting spells at the oncoming deatheaters.

"Have you seen Harry?" Ron panted in between spells.

"No, not since the battle started. Do you think he's battling Voldemort?" Hermione asked in a frightened whisper.

"I dunno. I hope he kills that jerk once and for all."

"Me too." Just then a new swarm of deatheaters turned and started attacking Ron and Hermione.

"Ron! There are too many of them! I don't know how much longer I can hold them off!" Hermione yelled in a panicked voice.

"I'll go get help," Ron said as he made his way across the field.

Hermione started backing away towards other ministry fighters. She was nearly to a group of them when she spotted him. He was the only deatheater not wearing the hooded robe and his platinum hair shone brightly in the blood red sun. He turned at that moment and spotted her too. Hermione lost her concentration for only a moment, but that was all they needed.

"Helitify!" Hermione crumpled to the ground in a pathetic heap. She began shaking violently and the deatheaters moved away, confident she would be dead soon.

_I'm going to die. _Hermione thought to herself. _This is it! I'll never get to do anything I had dreamed about. I'm going to die cold and alone in this field. _

Suddenly Hermione felt two hands and her shoulders. The figure rolled her onto her back and pulled her head into their lap.

"Hermione" The figured whispered, as they gently pushed her bushy brown hair off her face.

"Ron? Harry?" Hermione questioned, for she was unable to open her eyes.

"No" The man said simply. Hermione could tell that he was a man because of his deep, soothing voice.

"Who, Who are you?" Hermione asked, feeling mildly frightened by the stranger who held her so affectionately. Gradually her shaking subsided and she was increasingly weak.

"Hermione, before I tell you who I am, there are a few things I need to say first. I've always regretted the way I treated you. You deserved better that what I gave you."

"Who are you?" Hermione demanded in the most authoritative voice she could muster.

"Could you not be so bossy for once in your life and just listen? Everything I hated about you I came to admire. You fierce determination drove me crazy, and your annoyingly stubborn. But you grew on me. But it wasn't uh, acceptable for me to feel that way about you. So I treated you worse than anyone else to hide the way I felt and I'm sorry. Can you ever forgive me?"

Hermione mustered her strength and lifted an arm and placed her hand on his cheek. He leaded into her touch and sighed softly. She began moving her had all around his face and he let her. When her hand moved into his silky hair she whispered "Draco," and dropped her hand.

"Yes, Hermione its me." He reached for the hand that had so gently explored his features and held it tight. Hermione tried to pull away but he wouldn't allow it.

"You? You don't hate me?"

"No, never. I'm sorry I was so cruel." Draco said, remorse filling his voice. "I was stupid. I worried too much about what was expected of me because I was a pureblood."

"Why are you telling me all this?" Hermione whispered?

"I saw you get hit, and I realized you were, were," Draco stopped and stroked her hair gently. "I knew if I didn't tell you now, I might never get the chance to tell you the truth. I'm sorry it took me so long"

"You know I'm… I'm" "Hermione stopped and felt tears well up in her eyes.

"Hermione you will pull through this. You are strong enough to conquer anything." Draco said is the surest voice he could muster as he pulled a sobbing Hermione into his chest and held her tightly. "You'll live," He said and kissed her the top of her head. "You have to," he said to himself under his breath.

"Draco, I always felt something for you too. I was attracted to your bad boy image, but I knew there was good in you. But you were always so mean to me. I never dreamed you felt the same way. I'm sorry things didn't turn out differently."

"You felt the same? Man I really blew it. And now, now," he trailed off.

Hermione lifted her arm again and gently placed it on his cheek. She felt wetness beneath her fingers and knew he was crying. "And now it's too late." She finished for him.

"Oh, Hermione." He held her close and cried quietly into her hair.

"I wish I could see you one last time before I die." Hermione said softly. The spell that was slowly killing her made her unable to open her eyes.

"Hermione don't talk like that. You won't die! You can't," He said bitterly. "Hermione."

"Hmm?"

"I love you" Draco whispered into he ear.

Hermione lifted her head to face him, and to her surprise she felt her eyes opening and his face coming into focus. The compassion and sadness that filled his tear-stained face broke her heart.

"Draco, I love you too"

He looked down at her and saw she had her eyes opened and a flicker of hope for her life light up in his eyes.

"I knew it!" he teased.

Hermione laughed softly.

She saw it coming long before he lifted her head up and lowered his own, but she never expected his kiss to be so passionate and so full of love. Love he felt for her. He kissed her gently but passionately for a long time then pulled back slightly with his lips barely touching hers and lingered there.

"Hermione, I really do love you." He whispered into her lips.

Finally he pulled back and just held her, trying to make her as comfortable as possible in her last moments.

"You know your timing sucks right? During the middle of a war is not the most common time to confess you love. Especially when the object of your affection is becoming a casualty." Hermione said jokingly, but with a tone of seriousness in her voice.

"I needed you to know." Draco said seriously.

"I'm glad you told me." Hermione whispered.

"I left the deatheaters. I'm fighting on your side." Hermione looked up at Draco with a shocked look on her face. "I never wanted to be one of them, but my father, well, he pressured me into it. Said I wouldn't get any of the family fortune and he would personally hunt me down. I shouldn't have let that change my life, but I saw no way out. I spent my whole life trying to live up to his expectations, for nothing. " Draco looked down despairingly.

Hermione was overwhelmed with compassion for her old rival and newfound lover. "Why didn't you tell anyone? Dumbledore could have helped you."

"As hard as this is for me to admit, I was scared."

"I'm so sorry, Draco." Hermione said as new tears streaked down her face.

"Its ok. All of that is behind me now. I'm a new man. And I want to start my new life with you by my side." Draco said looking straight into Hermione's eyes.

"How can you say that" Hermione asked the sadness she felt sounding clearly in her shaking voice. "We both know I'm dying. And when I do I don't want that to hold you back. Go on and change the world. I don't want to you be held back by me."

"I refuse to let you die. And if you do that won't change how I feel about you. No one else could ever take your place. I love you Hermione." Draco leaned down and kissed her gently.

Suddenly all the spells stopped and almost complete silence surrounded them. Both of them stopped talking because of the surprise of the change. A tall hooded figure approached them.

"Draco," An icy voice said, "I hear an awful rumor you've left us. What a shame for you. Once again you chose the losing side. All of the ministry fighters are dead, except for Miss Granger here."

"You're wrong!" Hermione said as loudly as she could.

"Ha, spirited little thing, even as she lay dying. Draco, kill her, put her out of her misery and I won't kill you.

"Never"

"Do it Draco!"

"I don't take orders from you anymore, Voldemort!"

"Fine," he said with a look of pure hatred on his face. "Then I'll do it."

"Avada Kedavra!"

Hermione braced herself for the final blow. But instead she felt Draco flip over to come between her and Voldemort.

"No!" She yelled. But it was too late he had been hit.

"You killed him!" Hermione yelled as she stood up shaking with emotion. "How could you?" She exclaimed tears pouring down her face.

"You seemed to have recovered quickly," Voldemort hissed.

"Aha, seems you forget the ancient power of human compassion consistently. Mr. Malfoy's sacrifice saved Miss Granger, just as Lily's sacrifice saved Harry." Dumbledore said calmly as he and seven other ministry members and Harry approached the remaining deatheaters.

"Still, it doesn't change anything. I will still win."

"We shall see"

Everyone started moving in a flurry of spells and dodging. Everyone was fighting with all they had.

Harry approached Voldemort bravely and said, "Let's end this. Now."

"Fine"

Both of them raised the wands and cast the spells at the same time. Voldemort's wand flew across the field and Harry avoided the majority of Voldemort's spell and it barely hit him. Blood spewed from his left shoulder where the spell had hit. .

All of the deatheaters and ministry fighters had stopped and were in a circle around the two.

"Harry, you don't have the guts to kill and we all know it. So just surrender now!" Voldemort hissed evilly.

"You killed thousands of innocent people! You killed children!" Harry yelled.

"You won't do it, Harry, you can't" Voldemort goaded.

"YOU KILLED MY PARENTS! YOU RUINED MY LIFE! AVADA KADAVRA!"

Voldemort hit the ground, dead. The remaining death eaters were taken away to Azkaban by a few of the ministry workers. Dumbledore, Harry and Ron, were all standing together relishing in their victory. Then they heard muffled sobs coming from nearby. They turned and saw a distraught Hermione kneeling over Draco's body, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Hermione, he's in a better place now." Harry said soothingly while placing his hands on her shoulders.

"He was different. He was going to do so much good and he never got the chance. IT ISN'T FAIR!" Hermione sobbed.

"He gave his life for you. I would say he did a lot of good. And you have to keep on living your life. That way he can do all the good he intended through you." Harry said.

"You're right." She said. She bent over Draco's body and gently kissed his lips and said, "I love you." Then she stood up and turned to Harry. "Lets go."

Harry placed an arm around her and they began walking away. A bright, white light shone from behind them, causing them both to turn around. Draco's spirit was leaving his body. The glowing white light was coming from Draco.

"Hermione, I'm sorry we're never going to get to live our life together, but always know I love you and that will never change." The angel Draco reached out and touched Hermione's cheek and whispered, "I love you" as he disappeared into thin air.

Hermione stood staring at the empty space he had been in only seconds before, with new tears running down her face.

"The ones we love never truly leave us, as long as we keep them in our hearts." Dumbledore said soothingly.

"I won't let you down," Hermione whispered into the sky.

She turned and sobbed into Harry's shoulder for a long time. When she was ready the four of them turned and walked away into the sunset to start a new life free of fear.


End file.
